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TELLINIDAE |
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Click on an image to enlarge
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Pseudarcopagia
botanica Hedley,
1918 Description:
Shape moderately inflated, almost circular, umbo on
midline. Posterior end of both valves slightly flexed to right. Antero-dorsal
margin convex, postero-dorsal margin weakly convex. Right valve with
ridge from umbo to posterior margin. Exterior whole surface with
fine commarginal ridges crossed by weaker radial threads of about same
spacing, variable in strength. Interior with pallial line,
anterior and posterior muscle scars well defined; pallial sinus very
deep, extending well past midline. Margin smooth. Hinge with 2
cardinal teeth in each valve, 1 bifid, and 2 widely spaced lateral teeth
in each valve. (Fig. 2). Ligament
external, moderately long. Shell colour white internally and
externally. Size:
Up to 32 mm in length. Distribution:
Endemic to Australia: Cairns, Qld, southwards to Twofold Bay,
NSW. Habitat:
Lives in sand in sheltered bays. Common. Comparison:
A similar species Pseudarcopagia
decora (Reeve, 1853)[RW1] ,
is common across southern Australia, from Victoria to southwestern WA.
It is larger than P. botanica reaching up to 56 mm in length. The
two species are identical in shell characters apart from size, and it is
likely they are the same species, forming a continuous distribution
across eastern and southern Australia. A genetic study is required to
determine the relationship of the two. See Macomona deltiodalis
for comparison with that species. Fig.
1:
Twofold Bay, NSW, dredged in 15 m (C.66796) Fig.
2:
Twofold Bay, NSW, dredged in 15 m (C.66796) |
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